This pages shows the work I did in February 2020 toward my 10,000 hours deliberate practice fine art photographic apprenticeship.
Hours 3,248 to 3,378
29th February 2020
Hours 3,375 to 3,378
An hour updating this journal.
Two hours working on images from Patagonia including time spent reviewing and importing iPhone photos – all for the Family Book.
An hour watching Jamie Windsor’s “8 Composition Tips“
- Move your position – try alternative viewpoints
- Use your phone for practice framing
- Beware the rule of thirds – be careful about too much negative space or otherwise unbalanced images
- Squint to blur your vision so that you can see abstract view of the images
- Think conceptually about what you are trying to say; what the image is about; if appropriate show context
- Keep it simple – cut out anything that’s not necessary
- Watch the edge of the frame
- Work in post.
28th February 2020
Hours 3,372 to 3,374
Two hours at the RPS’ 162nd Photography Exhibition in Bristol and the “Street Fusion/ Bristol 2019” exhibition by Hans Eijkelboom at the Martin Parr Foundation, immediately opposite.
The RPS exhibition was dominated by contemporary portraiture
The Eijkelboom exhibition was of approximately 700 full length candid portraits of people walking around Bristol city centre during the summer of 2019. These were processed to be as similar as possible in style then categorised according to dress type, i.e., all the people wearing a Nike t-shirt were together, as were all the women wearing striped dresses, etc. This showed the uniformity of dress but also the variation therein, e.g., the different ways of wearing a Nike t-shirt.
An hour watching YouTubes:
- Nigel Danson: “How I find the best composition in a new location“
- Sean Tucker: “Protect your highlights – a lesson in light and life” – seen this before but it was worth revisiting
- Piximperfect: “3 secret advantages of 32-bit in photoshop” – essentially: use it to cope with images with a high dynamic range.
27th February 2020
Hours 3,368 to 3,371
Two hour selecting and processing images for the South America Family book.
Two hours at a talk by Sarah Lipman on the role of intention when taking photographs.
26th February 2020
Hours 3,362 to 3,367
Two hours at the Cafe Africa meeting in Amersham.
Two hours updating this journal and processing the images shot yesterday in Lightroom/ Photoshop and exporting to Flickr.
Two hours at the Colour Group of the Amersham Photographic Society.
25th February 2020
Hours 3,356 to 3,361
An hour at dawn shooting in Stoke Common inspired by Justin Minns’ talk yesterday evening.
An hour finishing the PLearn YouTube: “How to Set Up and Use a Wacom Tablet” and updating this journal.
An hour processing the images shot this morning.
An hour watching the Capture One YouTube: “Using Your Wacom Tablet“.
Two hours at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club – Lecture by Rod Bird: “What Photos Mean”
- Ambiguity is a uniquely attractive feature of photography that cannot be achieved in painting where the painter is explicitly in control of every element in the image
- The goal of a photographer should be to make a photo “about” something rather than “of” something!
24th February 2020
Hours 3,351 to 3,355
Two hours collating images for a family photo book of our recent trip to South America.
An hour learning about and practicing using the Wacom tablet which I had until now not used with my new Mac computer.
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society – Lecture by Justin Minns about Landscape photography. I bought his book: “Photographing East Anglia”. Key points:
- Get up early – arrive at destination an hour before sunrise
- Composition:
- Keep it simple
- Just a few connected elements
- Highlight is the brightest area
- Planning:
- Photographers’ Ephemeris
- Ordinance Survey maps to identify rights of way to gain access to ideal shooting spot
- Google StreetMap to plan where to park
- Look at several weather ap – choose the best and get out there!
23rd February 2020
Hours 3,348 to 3,350
An hour processing some of the images shot yesterday evening.
An hour preparing and submitting prints for Wednesday’s meeting at Cafe Africa in Amersham.
An hour watching YouTube:
- Sean Tucker: “How to Accurately Recolour your Images (using Gradient Maps in Photoshop)“
- Works on images where there is a single hue and saturation level but a mixture of lightness values
- Select the area to be changed – pen tool recommended
- Create a Gradient Map layer with the above selection as a mask
- Click the bar to bring up the Gradient Editor
- Double-click the middle handle underneath the bar in the editor, to bring up an eyedropper selection to change the hue in the “changed to” gradient
- Adjust the saturation and lightness in the colour picker to whatever looks natural/ best
- Maybe adjust the shininess of the result be moving the white gradient handle, between the one be just double clicked to change the hue and the bottom right/left.
- Matt Kowalski: “February 2020 Release of Lightroom Classic”
- Support for PSB files, i.e., files too big for TIF or PSD format.
22nd February 2020
Hours 3,345 to 3,347
An hour updating this journal.
An hour working on updating images following comments from the Cafe Africa meeting this week, including the following:
Half an hour watching a YouTube about the “Basic Functions of the Godox V1 Flash” – really wish I had watched this before shooting the SPWF QAVS presentation earlier this week – it would have explained what went wrong with the flash half way through (I pressed a button by accident and couldn’t get it back into TTL mode – ggrrrrrr!).
A few minutes shooting in Wembley outside the Arena and a lot longer inside the arena thinking about what great shots I would have been taking of the ArenaCross motorcycle display had my camera not be confiscated by security!
21st February 2020
Hours 3,340 to 3,344
Three hours processing images from the QAVS shoot yesterday, including preparing and sending images to Joy Morrissey’s office for use on her social media as the Beaconsfield MP.
An hour updating this journal.
An hour creating alternative versions of the images shown at Cafe Africa earlier this week, including the following:
20th February 2020
Hours 3,331 to 3,339
An hour preparing and testing equipment for the shoot with Princess Alexandra and the Wexham Horticultural Society this afternoon; both at home and on site.
An hour processing the test shots.
Half and hour updating this journal.
Three hours shooting the presentation of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services by Princess Alexandra to the the Stoke Poges, Wexham and Fulmer Horticultural Society.
Three and a half hours processing the above images including preparing and sending photos to the royal press office.
19th February 2020
Hours 3,326 to 3,330
Two hours at Cafe Africa in Amersham.
| Image | ….. | Comments |
 | Image was generally liked. However, being split into two halves makes it easy to criticise on the basis of the eye bouncing from one half to the other. | |
 | Really needs to be sharp or at least shaper front to back. Rocks OK but nothing beyond that. Poor image. | |
 | Base too heavy and lacking interesting elements. | |
 | It is generally considered poor compositional practice to have water at the base on the image “the viewer gets their feet wet!” | |
 | Considered by Vic Attfield to be the best picture I have ever taken. “Don’t change anything.” Others thought I could: – bring out the colours a little – crop-off the top of the image – enhance the high-key aspect Certainly print on non-gloss paper. Soft images require a matt paper; gloss only works for super sharp images. | |
 | Interesting contra jour lighting on rims of sheep. Very busy – sheep at base of image too light. | |
 | Field too dark – sky too bright. No consensus regarding whether or not this is salvageable by lightening patch of the field. |
An hour working on Patagonian Landscapes
Two hours updating this journal and social media.
18th February 2020
Hours 3,322 to 3,325
An hour processing the family images from yesterday.
An hour producing a mono version of the “Watching the Moai – Easter Island” image that faired so badly yesterday.
Two hours at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club.
17th February 2020
Hours 3,318 to 3,321
One and a half hours Editing images from Easter Island.
Half an hour shooting the family shots including the following:
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society – Print Competition.
| Image | ….. | Comments |
 | “Watching the Moai – Easter Island” 14 Judge did not like the colour of the sky or the fact that you could hardly see the Moai [I think he was expecting to see the whole figure rather than merely the head.] | |
 | Tango Al Fresco 17 Not sure about the combination of both blurred background and blurred subject. All images too similar, might have benefitted from the third image being more dramatically different. |
16th February 2020
Hours 3,313 to 3,317
Four and a half hours at the Thames Valley DIG (subgroup of the RPS) – talk by Tony Harmer “Making it: on mobile; in photoshop; move”.
Top photoshop usage tips:
- Operations such as Dodge and Burn are paired such that the other can be used merely by holding down the Option key
- Holding down an access key, such as “B” for the brush tool, provides temporary switching to that tool. Normal operation resumed as soon as the button is released
- <shift><option><shortcut key> changes the blend mode for the tool to layer selected, e.g., <shift><option>”M” will change the blend mode to “Multiply” (N=Normal, S=Screen, etc.)
- “Clear” blend mode for a brush effectively deletes pixels and “behind” paints a colour behind deleted pixels
- Smart objects are very flexible.
One layer pencil sketch:
Smart object:
Half an hour writing up this journal.
15th February 2020
Hours 3,309 to 3,312
Three hours updating the following, and other landscape, images:
Understand the basics of the Luminosity Mask in photoshop (see: “The hidden power of luminosity masks in Photoshop CC“). Essentially:
- Open channels tab
- <Command><Click> the RGB channel
- Create a new channel by pressing the “+” button at the bottom of the screen
- <Command>”I” to populate.
An hour selecting contents for and creating the Flickr album for Buenos Aires (and editing a couple of images).
14th February 2020
Hours 3,306 to 3,308
An hour working on images from Easter Island, including the following Moai multiple exposure.
Two hours updating this journal and related social media sites.
13th February 2020
Hours 3,301 to 3,305
An hour planning the Family phonebook form the recent trip to South America.
Two hours watching and writing up the following YouTube:
- John Free: “Viewfinder Coverage Street Photography Tip” – John claims that the majority of cameras on the market today only show 95% of the eventually captured image in the viewfinder. I know this was true with my old a850 DSLR but don’t think it applies to modern mirrorless camera
- Pierre Lambert: “5 Must Try Ideas for 2020” as applied to street photography:
- Shoot between the garages of a moving train with a slow shutter speed so that the subject on the other platform is sharp but the train fills the edges of the frame with a blurred image
- Apply the same technique with people moving past the subject
- Look for reflections in Cars and elsewhere
- Look up and perhaps apply some ICM
- Panning – subject against a contrasting background
- Robin Whalley: “Control Image Colour with the Adobe Lightroom Classic HSL Tool” – increase the impact of an image by using the HSL hue sliders (in any tool) to add separation to the colours
- Serge Ramelli: “The Best Kept Secret to Dodge and Burn“
- Select the whole are to be darkened/ lightened
- Decrease/ increase the exposure
- Apply a luminosity mask so that the adjustment applies only to the darker/ lighter area
- Very controllable/ flexible
- Works similarly to using Multiply/ Screen blend modes.
- Nick Turpin: “True POV Street Photography with Nick Turpin, Dropping everything to shoot” – Nick shoots a demonstration in Trafalar Square – notes:
- Look for good compositional elements
- Wait for people to move into a good position
- Shoot in burst mode to allow for an element of luck in the final image.
Two hours at the Amersham Mono Group, comments on my images as follows:
| Image | ….. | Comments and suggestions |
 | It was considered that more texture could/ should be brought out in the midground. Opinion was divide as to the merits of a high-key images vs one with more contrast, particularly emphasising the Torres in the background. | |
 | Greeted with gasps of appreciation – perhaps relative to the above image! It was through that for the right salon this might gain an FIAP acceptance. | |
 | Variations were discussed but generally the subject and shadows need to stand out more from the background which should be lighter overall. |
12th February 2020
Hours 3,294 to 3,300
Half an hour working on the house images shot yesterday.
Two hours at the Cafe Africa meeting in Amersham.
| Original Image | ….. | Comments | ….. | Revised Image |
 | Most people thought that the image required more contrast and definition. However, Vic Atfield felt that the soft tones worked well and encouraged me to continue with the idea of producing a high-key image. | | ||
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 | Generally well liked. Only comments related to possibly darkening some potentially distracting stones in the foreground. | |||
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 | Generally liked and considered an improvement over the original. | |||
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 | It was agreed that this had better balance that the version shown last week. However, it was thought that the midground mountains might benefit from lightening to present less of a barrier to the eye moving through the image. |
Four hours working on images for:
- The Estate Agent – yesterday’s house shoot
- Prints for the Mono group tomorrow evening
- Prints for next Monday’s competition the Amersham Photographic Society.
Half an hour updating this journal.
11th February 2020
Hours 3,290 to 3,293
An hour shooting a house for sale in Poole.
An hour processing the above images in Capture One Pro 12.
Two hours at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club.
10th February 2020
Hours 3,284 to 3,289
Four hours working on Patagonian Animals and updating this journal.
Two hours at the Amersham Photographical Society – Members Evening: Presentations by the Mono Group.
9th February 2020
Hours 3,280 to 3,283
An hour updating this journal together with associated Flickr images.
An hour watching:
- Nigel Danson – “Taking your photography from Good to Great“
- Fantod – “Black and White from the Masters of Photography” 101 top images
- Adorama – “Umbrellas: The most under-appreciated modifiers“
Two hours preparing images for printing for this week’s meeting at Cafe Africa.
8th February 2020
Hours 3,277 to 3,279
Two hours working on the following B&W, initially in Photoshop and the going back to the RAW file and creating a mono version in Capture One starting with a Landscape preset. Used a heal layer in Capture One for the first time when removing the sign post – it did a terrific job.
an hour updating this journal and associated social media.
7th February 2020
Hours 3,273 to 3,276
An hour working on the following suggested high key B&W version of the landscape as shown at Cafe Africa earlier in the week.
Half an hour creating the following image for inclusion in the family holiday book and to submit to the Beyond group for yesterday’s text challenge.
Two further hours working on revised versions of the images shown to Cafe Africa earlier in the week
6th February 2020
Hours 3,269 to 3,272
Half an hour drafting a “Unique Image from Easter Island” post.
An hour updating this journal and social media.
Two hours at the Amersham Beyond group. New challenge: including text in the image – must be text created by the photographer.
Half an hour watching: Sean Tucker’s “Balancing your Photography with a Busy Life (feat. Mo Barzegar)“
5th February 2020
Hours 3,267 to 3,268
Two hours at Cafe Africa discussing landscape images from Patagonia.
| Original | ….. | Comments | ….. | Revised |
 | Clouds too heavy. Not clear that the mountains are mountains. | | ||
 | Edge of lake must be straight. Foreground rock too dominant | | ||
 | Base too heavy and dominant | | ||
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 | Cut off some of base. Convert to a high-key monochrome | | ||
 | Too much sky | | ||
 | Convert to mono. Recover detail from the mountains. |  |
4th February 2020
Hours 3,263 to 3,266
An hour sorting and processing images from Easter Island.
Half an hour preparing prints for this evening’s Stoke Poges Photography Club print Competition.
| Image | ….. | Comments |
 | “Creating Dystopia” 20 Joint First Place | |
 | “I Say …” 17 Judge liked the title but thought the woman might be either a little over saturated or “sunburnt”. I don’t think she appreciated the irony of the image in the way a man would have. | |
 | “Art and Artist” 20 Joint First Place |
Two hours at the Stoke Poges Photography Club, and half an hour updating this journal with comments from the judge above.
3rd February 2020
Hours 3,259 to 3,262
Two hour processing images for inclusion in this journal and adding.
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society – Lecture “Beyond the Summit” – Chris Palmer talking about life after an RPS Fellowship.
2nd February 2020
Hours 3,254 to 3,258
Three hours processing Patagonia landscapes, including:
- creating new Photoshop actions for Colour Toning, and Dodging and Burning
- Editing the top images
- Selecting a top 10 for printing and comment at Cafe Africa next Wednesday.
An hour updating this journal, mainly by adding images from Patagonia.
An hour updating my Instagram feed.
1st February 2020
Hours 3,248 to 3,253
Half an hour editing Patagonia landscapes including the following image.
An hour watching YouTubes:
- The case for Mark Rothko
- The case for Jackson Pollock
- The case for Realism
- Three ways to Light a Corner Portrait:
- All techniques use a single light with a grid to prevent spillage and show the shape of the light on the walls
- Some or no light on the sidewall
- Or shoot directly into the corner lit from above – curvature of light on both walls.
- Capture One: Landscape Edit:
- Use the luminosity filter on a mask (filled layer) to select only light or dark areas of an image
- Luma Range
- Greyscale mask to better see what’s going on
- One Simple Technique to Make Subjects Standout when shooting outdoors in natural light: essentially; sun behind to create a hair light, and ensure that they are against a dark background so that the hair light is visible.
Half updating this journal including all the new month admin.
Another two and a half hours editing Patagonia landscapes.
One and a half hours watching the NADM documentary on Jean Michel Basquiat. Where I was struck by the celebrity status of Basquiat and the irony of the man from the gutter selling paintings for $100,000,000.
The above also applies to my thoughts on Jeff Koons, although he represents popularist USA rather than an oppressed underclass.